Category: Miss Pink

I’ve just come back from Florence and I didn’t want to leave! It’s such a beautiful city full of culture, art, history, architecture and amazing shopping – it’s everything I could wish for. I took loads and loads of photos so apologies in advance for the amount I will share. I will break my guide into 2 or 3 parts to cover it all.

On Monday I flew to Pisa (it’s much cheaper) and took a bus straight to the airport to fairly central part of Florence. It was actually nice to be driving through Tuscany (it takes about 70 minutes) and see the beautiful countryside. I definitely plan to see more of that on another trip. I arrived in the early evening, checked into my hotel, freshened up and set out to explore straight away. It was nice warm evening and I caught beautiful sunset over the river. I wore this Zara dress which is perfect for travelling. It’s super comfy, I like the length and long sleeves – perfect for a plane as you don’t have to worry about exposing too much or being cold and just be comfortable.

The next day I set out very early because there was a lot I wanted to cover. First I just wandered through the streets a little bit, but then I headed towards the Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo square) for the best views of the whole of Florence, through Giardino Delle Rose (rose garden) – beautiful views and beautiful flowers. They have an amazing amount of different types of roses. Definitely a must see. I spent quite a lot of time there as the views are really breathtaking and you can just sit down and take it all in. After taking a lot of steps to get there, you may need a break.. There you may also see one of the two copies of Michelangelo’s David (the other copy is outside Palazzo Vecchio) and the original in the Galleria dell’Accademia (all in Florence).

From there I went down and up again to one of many Florentine churches, more amazing views and I saw someone getting engaged there which was really lovely (yes he got on one knee) (insert heart emoji). Then I continued on that side of the river walking towards the Boboli gardens and the Medici palace before coming back to more central Florence over the Ponte Vecchio – most famous Florence bridge and also the busiest. There were some lovely jewellery shops there (you could easily spend a fortune) but also many many tourists so I tried to get out of there quick. Beware! Florence is full of people and large crowds at most places.

After I had lunch at the Piazza Della Signorina, with the view of Palazzo Vecchio right in front of me and one of the David’s and lots of other beautiful sculptures, did a bit of window shopping at Chanel lusting after all of their bags and shoes and a bit of shopping at more affordable shops.. Had gelato, and did more wandering through the streets and just made the most of the beautiful city.

Advice: lunch with a view is nice, but food is much nicer and cheaper in little side streets. Everywhere you go there’s places to eat and have a drink and the best places are usually hidden and away from the crowds.

I walked past the Duomo every day. It was very close to my hotel and it’s very central so nearly everywhere you go you can go past it. It really is very beautiful. Photos don’t do it justice. Unfortunately on this occasion I didn’t get to go in but I would definitely recommend it and it’s something I’m planning to do next time. You can see it from many angles from many places and it always took my breath away. If you only see one thing in Florence see the Duomo.

Number two is climbing up to see it all from the Michelangelo square.

Number three is visiting the Uffizzi Gallery. There are many museums and galleries in Florence (I told you it was full of art and culture) and it is impossible to visit them all in one trip. But the one I did and would definitely recommend is the Uffizzi. I spent over 3 hours there and didn’t see it all so will try to visit again, but I saw the main things I wanted to see. My favourite painting is the Birth of Venus by Botticelli and it was an amazing experience to see the original in real life and also the Primavera. Also the Leonardo da Vinci‘s rooms are incredible. Those were the highlights form me but there is so much more. I could just write an article about Uffizi!

I also stumbled across a beautiful Synagogue, had a coffee and lunch with a view that I definitely recommend, drinks at a place that is a must visit and much more! But more about that next week.

I hope you’re enjoying this beautiful weather. What have you been up to? I’ve had some friends staying with me for few days (they left this morning) and yesterday I wanted to show them few of my favourite spots around London.

We started in Notting Hill and went to some popular Instagram spots and around some pretty colourful streets (Portobello road was crazy busy so I wanted to avoid it as much as we could) and then we went to Churchill Arms pub for lunch (such a pretty pub – if you haven’t been you should check it out), after we took these photos at my absolutely favourite house in London during this time of the year – I mean have you seen anything prettier and continued our journey towards Kensington Palace and gardens (they are all gorgeous too with all these flowers) and ended up our afternoon in Knightsbridge and had couple of drinks there and some nibbles. It was so lovely and the perfect blue skies made it even better.

I couldn’t wait to wear this dress ever since I bought it recently and I thought it would be perfect for Notting Hill and I really wanted to photograph it in front of this house. You probably know the famous quote: Florals for Spring? Groundbreaking! but I genuinely love florals all year round and especially in Spring and Summer.

This dress is perfect if you’re worried about floral print or just starting with it. I suggest to go with plain background, either white/cream like I’m wearing here or black (but to me it’s more wintery). Also I think the print here is quite subtle. I love the long sleeve because even though it gives you more coverage, it’s very breezy and overall the dress is very comfortable. I loved wearing it and I think it will be on heavy rotation this summer. I do love a bit of a maxi dress too and it’s perfect with sandals dressed down or I could dress it up with some heels.

Here are few of my other floral print dresses to give you more inspiration but there is many more throughout the blog. What can I say? I’m a flower girl through and through. 1, 2 and 3.

Trends come and go, but a pleated skirt or a dress is something you will reach out for time and time again.

It’s one of those things that is totally appropriate for work, casual lunch or even evening soiree. Wear it with ankle boots, trainers or pointed pumps and you will always be on point. I love buying things that are timeless and I will get my wear out of. Whether it’s cheap of expensive, why should you wear an item only once or even one season and that’s it? That’s not my way of thinking and to prove it you can see this dress worn in early winter very different way.

One of the reasons I love pleats is that they add volume but just the right amount. I love fit and flare dresses or fitted tops and loose skirts, it’s a look easily achieved with pleats and it’s flattering on everyone. It’s also an interesting detail on a simple item without being too much.

Another thing I wanted to mention is mixing high street pieces with high end designer items. It’s my favourite thing to create an outfit. In here I’m wearing mostly high street pieces (I’m addicted to ASOS and Zara as you may have noticed) and just added my Gucci belt which by the way has been such a great buy and I must say I’ve been wearing it much more than I originally thought. It’s such a cool way to accessorise any look and add a bit of interesting detail without it being too much. I often wear high street clothes and add a designer or if I’m wearing designer dress (Self Portrait and Zimmermann being my weaknesses) I would dress it down with high street accessories. I think this is the best way to look original because if you’re wearing head to toe Zara for example, I’m sure it’ll look great but it’s likely many people may have exactly the same outfit. On the other hand if you wear head to toe designer it may look a bit too much. But that’s just my opinion. What do you think?

Spring is my favourite time of the year and last week when we had the beautiful weather just made me so happy. I live for blossom and spring dresses. The minute it starts getting warmer I reach for lighter fabrics like lace and broderie anglaise and try to spend as much time as I can outside.

My wardrobe staple not only in the Spring but all year round really is Little White Dress. I couldn’t tell you how many I own in various fabrics and options but they are so great on so many levels. With LWD you can easily dress it up or down and they are suitable for any occasion (except for wedding!). In the coming weeks I will share with you many looks and ways how to style LWD. Here’s a casual one from last year.

I believe that unlike Little Black Dress that can look a bit harsh on certain skin types and heavy for some occasions, the Little White Dress suit anyone and really goes anywhere any time.

This little number is from Erdem and it was such a lucky purchase. I bought it for about 80% off the price in the sales last summer. It was the last one they had and I thought it looked a bit small at first, but it fitted perfectly and it’s such a nice dress to have in your wardrobe. I love the fact that it’s got a little sleeve and it’s not too short. The fabric is gorgeous and the bow is a nice little touch. It would look nice to style all monochrome with black and white accessories but as you may know I love to add a little pink to my outfits, this time opting for my Dolce and Gabbana Sicily bag that has become one of my favourite bags and I’m actually thinking about getting it in another colour as well. It’s such a nice shape and I love handbags with a top handle. But more about that another time..

In a typical English fashion I added my Burberry trench coat to add an extra layer because if you live in the UK you know a) the weather can change at any minute and b) even on the hottest of days the evenings tend to cool down and it’s good to be prepared.

I wore this outfit to my belated birthday dinner at 5 Hertford Street in Mayfair. It’s a member’s club only and I was invited by a friend who is a member. The food was delicious and atmosphere nice but you are not allowed to take pictures so unfortunately I can’t share with you any. It’s probably the first time I had nearly a month of celebrations because my birthday was close to the Easter and many people were away so we just celebrated at different times. It was lovely and I am very grateful I have some amazing people in my life.

Judging by your comments on my Instagram you love polka dot too. Everyone seems to agree that they are chic and timeless even though they are having their moments now. They will always be here, maybe not so much in the spotlight (another pun?!) but they are a trend that keeps on giving. So don’t be afraid giving polka dots a try even if you don’t like to buy into trends because these will be items you will keep reaching for in the years to come.

Earlier this week I turned 37. I had a lovely day celebrating with my friends (you can read all about it here) but I’m not going to lie and say it was easy. No one likes getting older right?

My birthday was on Monday and on Saturday before I had had a little break down. I’d been feeling a bit down for a few days and when everyone was making a fuss about the upcoming day and asking me whether I was excited I just started crying. I’m not sure why and it’s completely silly. I started talking to a lot of friends about how I felt and learnt something very important. No matter what the age, most of us feel like we should be somewhere else, doing something else, are underachieving etc. We are too harsh on ourselves!

So I decided to embrace my age and concentrate on the positives. Yes I’m still single and the older you get the harder it seems to meet someone, but I’m free to do what I want and I’d rather be single than in a bad relationship. And yes I haven’t achieved all the career goals I hoped for, but I enjoy what I’m doing and I have my blog and social media which are my creative outlets and that makes me very happy.

Another big dream of mine is travelling and I must say that in my 36th year of life I have ticked quite a few destinations off my list. I visited Croatia, Venice, Barcelona and Paris few times so that’s not a bad going and I’m going to Florence in May which I can’t wait for and Czech Republic in July (see where else I’m hoping to go in the near future here) I’ve made some of these trips alone and that has been a big learning curve. I never though I’d be able to go on a holiday on my own but it’s actually very empowering. Learning to do these things on your own gives you more confidence and sense of freedom. And yes I’d love to meet someone one day but I’m doing rather well on my own.

I think we need to stop being so critical to ourselves and concentrate on the things we achieved. I first arrived to London a week before my 20th birthday (17 years ago) and that was before Czech Republic joined the EU so my only option was to be an au pair. I’ve come a long way since then. And I/we tend to forget those little achievements. But even living on your own and being independent is a big thing to do and not everyone could do it.

I am trying to work on those dreams every day. I think sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture and sometimes you have to break those big dreams into little goals and do a little by little to achieve what you want. You’re never too old to do what you love and makes you happy. There’s right time for everything and it’s very easy to forget but we need to remind ourselves every single day.

I promise myself to be kinder to me from now on and pat myself on the back even for the little things. Life is not always easy and we all have our doubts and down days, but let’s stop for a moment and put things into perspective and concentrate on the good in life.

How do you deal with negative thoughts? Are you happy where you are at your age?

Yesterday (Monday) I turned 37. And what a better way to celebrate than afternoon tea at the Ritz?

Last year I went to Paris for 3 days just before my birthday and I went for a tea and cake at The Ritz there because I am a huge fan of Coco Chanel and if it was good enough for her it is good enough for me. It had undergone a huge refurbishment and I wanted to visit it and it did not disappoint. This year my friend suggested to go the Ritz in London so I could compare the two and I thought it was a brilliant idea. I love Afternoon Teas (I’m preparing a blog post about some of my favourite ones) and so we decided to book it for my birthday and maybe even make it a new tradition.

Call me silly but one of the things about Afternoon teas and birthdays is a perfect excuse to dress up and of course buy new outfit. I had been deciding between few dresses and found this one last minute on ASOS on ordered it literally couple of days before my actual birthday. It fitted perfectly and I loved it so that was my outfit sorted. When I was younger I remember the weather used to be much warmer around my birthday and it usually already felt like Spring which hasn’t been the case lately and especially this year so I wasn’t sure if wearing a sleeveless dress was the best idea but the sun came out and it was very warm at The Ritz so I was glad I decided to go for it and I felt really nice in it.

I thought because we went on a Monday it wouldn’t be very busy but that was a mistake. It was very busy and if you’re planning on going I would recommend you booking well in advance. We booked it at the beginning of January. But despite it being busy there was a nice atmosphere. There was a pianist playing some lovely music and it was buzzing but pleasant. At one point the pianist started playing Happy Birthday song and few waiters came out with little cakes with candles and I got one along with some other people. I though that was really nice touch although I was probably blushing. Especially when everyone started clapping but fortunately like I said I wasn’t the only birthday girl there.

The food was tasty. On the top tier we had few deserts and I of course tried the pink one which was with raspberries and was delicious and then I had lots of sandwiches. My favourite was with salmon. When we ate them all they brought more and after they brought the scones and jam and cream. The scones were fresh and warm and although I am not a big fan of scones I did have one. It was yummy. In the end they brought an extra dessert and it was a selection of either chocolate mousse cake (so delicious) and apple pie and surprisingly I went for that one (I’m more of a chocolate person) but I did not regret my decision. It was the best apple pie I had ever tasted. And of course I tried the chocolate mousse cake from my friend.

Everything tasted very nice and we had a glass of champagne too and I went for rose infused tea and a bit of my friend’s coffee. It’s funny because I’m not really into sandwiches and cakes but I love Afternoon teas. I think it’s the whole tradition and the fine China and the atmosphere about Afternoon teas I love. I’ve already tried few in London and I definitely recommend the one at The Ritz. The place itself is amazing (lot of pink which I did not expect), the toilets are amazing (I’d happily just hang out int there – it looks beautiful, they have chaise lounge there, bottled water and magazines – what more to ask for?) and despite being busy the staff were attentive and I loved the live music.

Overall I had a nice experience and a lovely birthday. I went with two friends and afterwards we had few more drinks in a nearby bar and although I was a bit apprehensive about turning 37 it couldn’t have started better and I’m excited about what the year is going to bring.